Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to compass
Participle: compassed
Gerund: compassing
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | compass |
| you | compass |
| he;she;it | compasses |
| we | compass |
| you | compass |
| they | compass |
Perfect
| I | have compassed |
| you | have compassed |
| he;she;it | has compassed |
| we | have compassed |
| you | have compassed |
| they | have compassed |
Past
| I | compassed |
| you | compassed |
| he;she;it | compassed |
| we | compassed |
| you | compassed |
| they | compassed |
Pluperfect
| I | had compassed |
| you | had compassed |
| he;she;it | had compassed |
| we | had compassed |
| you | had compassed |
| they | had compassed |
Future
| I | will compass |
| you | will compass |
| he;she;it | will compass |
| we | will compass |
| you | will compass |
| they | will compass |
Future Perfect
| I | will have compassed |
| you | will have compassed |
| he;she;it | will have compassed |
| we | will have compassed |
| you | will have compassed |
| they | will have compassed |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | compass |
| you | compass |
| he;she;it | compass |
| we | compass |
| you | compass |
| they | compass |
Perfect
| I | have compassed |
| you | have compassed |
| he;she;it | have compassed |
| we | have compassed |
| you | have compassed |
| they | have compassed |
Imperfect
| I | compassed |
| you | compassed |
| he;she;it | compassed |
| we | compassed |
| you | compassed |
| they | compassed |
Pluperfect
| I | had compassed |
| you | had compassed |
| he;she;it | had compassed |
| we | had compassed |
| you | had compassed |
| they | had compassed |
Conditional
Present
| I | would compass |
| you | would compass |
| he;she;it | would compass |
| we | would compass |
| you | would compass |
| they | would compass |
Perfect
| I | would have compassed |
| you | would have compassed |
| he;she;it | would have compassed |
| we | would have compassed |
| you | would have compassed |
| they | would have compassed |
Imperative
| you | compass |
| we | Let's compass |
| you | compass |
Verbs conjugated like 'compass'
abash,
abolish,
abroach,
accomplish,
accroach,
address,
admix,
admonish,
ado,
adpress,
affamish,
affix,
alloo,
amass,
ambush,
anguish,
annex,
appeach,
appears,
approach, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'compass'
accompass,
compact,
compane,
company,
compare,
compart,
compose,
compost,
compress,
encompass,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- accomplish
- reach
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. c.1300, "space, area, extent," from O.Fr.
compas, from
compasser "to go around, measure, divide equally," from V.L.
*compassare "to pace out," from L.
com- "together" +
passus "a step." The mathematical instrument so called from 1387. The mariners' directional tool (so called since early 15c.) took the name, perhaps, because it's round and has a point like the mathematical instrument. The word is in most European languages, with a mathematical sense in Romance, a nautical sense in Gmc., and both in Eng.
2. From Middle English compassen (“to go around, make a circuit, draw a circle, contrive, intend”), from Old French compasser; from the noun; see compass as a noun. See: Middle English '
compassen', Old French '
compasser'.
Sample Sentences
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Now all the blessings
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Of a glad father compass thee about! [1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:]
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And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. [1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:13:]
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Jack was called plucky, and he was, but it took all the strength of will that the slim, resolute engineer possessed, to hold him to his purpose, when he faced about and surveyed the unimpassive faces which compassed him. [1899, Martha Frye Boggs, Jack Crews, page 237:]
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So she goeth around the hill compassing. [1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 174:]
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[…] tho' theſe ſeem'd to be very unfit Inſtruments for compaſſing of that great Deſign for which they were then employ'd, becauſe of their Inability and Uncapacity in performing the Work ſo very great and important; […] [1720, John Shaw, “Of Religion”, in The Fundamental Doctrines of the Church of England, […], volume I, London: […] George Strahan, […] William Mears, […], page 36:]
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[...] they never find ways sufficient to compass that end. [1763, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated by M. Nugent, Emilius; or, an essay on education, page 117:]
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[...] to settle the end of our action or disputation; and then to take fit and effectual means to compass that end. [1816, Catholicon: or, the Christian Philosopher, volume 3, July to December 1816, page 56:]
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[...] and was an artful flatterer, when that was necessary to compass his end, in which generally he was successful. [1857, Gilbert Burnet, Bishop Burnet's History of His Own Time: from the Restoration of King Charles the Second to the Treaty of Peace at Utrecht in the Reign of Queen Anne, page 657:]
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The immediate problem is how to compass that end: by the seizure of territory or by the cultivation of the goodwill of the people whose business she seeks. [1921 November 23, The New Republic, volume 28, number 364, page 2:]
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That he plotted and compassed to raise Sedition and Rebellion [...] [1600, R. Bagshaw, “The Arraignment and Judgement of Captain Thomas Lee”, in Cobbett's Complete Collection of State Trials, volume 1, published 1809, pages 1403–04:]
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But it went beyond it by the loose construction of compassing to depose the King, … [1794 November 1, Speech of Mr. Erskine in Behalf of Hardy, published in 1884, by Chauncey Allen Goodrich, in Select British Eloquence, page 719]
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The Bavarian felt a mad wave of desire for her sweep over him. What scheme wouldn't he compass to mould that girl to his wishes. [1915, The Wireless Age, volume 2, page 580:]